Cops find body as woman last seen with man who 'kidnapped and tried to kill son'

12 April 2023 , 15:43

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Body found in search for missing Leticia Martinez-Cosman last seen with date who ‘kidnapped son and tried to kill him’ (Image: Seattle Police Department)

Seattle police have said investigators have uncovered a body thought to be connected to the disappearnce of Leticia Martinez-Cosman who was last seen at a Seattle Mariners game.

Leticia, 58, was last seen in a selfie taken at the baseball game, on March 31, with a man who allegedly kidnapped her son, tried to kill him and set alight her SUV.

She sent a friend a smiling selfie of herself and Brett Gitchel, 46, in the stands at T-Mobile Park.

Police said they recovered a body in Renton on Tursday, April 12, while investigating the mother's disappearance.

A Seattle Police Department (SPD) spokesperson said the body was found while detectives were following multiple leads on the case.

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Leticia Martinez-Cosman was last seen in a selfie taken at a Seattle Mariners game (Seattle Police Department)

In a statement to KOMO News, the department said: "SPD Homicide Detectives followed leads obtained during the investigation which resulted in the recovery of a deceased subject in the Renton area Tursday afternoon.

"The King County Medical Examiner's Office will confirm the identity of the deceased and the cause and manner of death."

However, police are yet to confirm that it is the body of Leticia which was found.

46-year-old Brett Glitchel (Seattle Police Department)

Leticia Martinez-Cosman, 58 (Seattle Police Department)

Glitchel has yet to be charged in connection with Leticia's disappearance and possible death, however he does face a whole host of charges in connection with the ensuing abduction of her adult son.

Fox 14 Seattle reported on documents which state: "Within a three days period, Brett Glitchel was the last person to be seen with Leticia Martinez-Cosman.

Brett Glitchel would drive Leticia's vehicle to a remote area outside Seattle for a short period of time the next day, kidnap and attempt to kill her son and burn Leticia's vehicle.

Leticia's son managed to escape Glitchel after allegedly biting him on the hand (Seattle Police Department)

Leticia was reported missing by her brother, Ricardo Martinez, on April 2. The same day, Glitchel reportedly woke up her 24-year-old son, who has intellectual disabilities, at around 2am, telling him his mother had been invovled in an accident and that he would drive him to the hospital.

After driving in the SUV for what the son said "seemed like hours", Glitchel said he needed to get some water and stopped the vehicle, according to documents.

He allegedly then got in the back seat and tried to strangle Leticia's son, who managed to bite him on the hand.

The suspect allegedly torched Martinez-Cosman’s Honda SUV (Seattle Police Department)

The Seattle Times reported that documents said Glitchel told the son "he was doing this for his mother and that this was to spare him from being committed to an institution because of his conditions".

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According to officials, the son managed to escape the SUV, where he then contacted his father who instructed him to call 911 as Glitchel sped off.

Martinez-Cosman and a friend reportedly first met Gitchel at a Costco on March 19. (Facebook / Leticia Martinez)

Police found the son hiding in bushes, visibly upset, bloodied and struggling to explain what had happened.

Investigators later got their hands on surveillance video showing Glitchel outside Martinez-Cosman's home at around noon on April 1. The suspect then drove to Golf Drive South, where firefighters later responded to a vehicle up in flames near T-Mobile park at around 7am the next day, April 2.

Fiona Leishman